Surprise!

One of the things that I have enjoyed during my experiment of blogging and seeing if I can actually do this 'writing thing' is that my mind has been challenged in some really exciting ways. When I have had 'writer's block' which I really haven't had in the truest sense, I go to Helium and peruse titles. I find myself mulling over some topic that may never have crossed my mind, EVER before. Sometimes I just write about it, totally off the cuff. Other times I think about it for a few hours or days. Occasionally I will research a topic and form an opinion on it. Many of the articles are about things I never really gave too much thought to before trying to write about it. Fun, fun, fun.

Well, surprise, surprise! I found myself writing to a debate question tonight. The topic is "Should it be compulsory for couples to sign a prenuptial agreement before marriage?" Not only will my husband raise an eyebrow over the debate topic, he will also check that he is actually reading my article. He may wonder if he called up the wrong author on this one. I surprised myself with what I wrote, and which side I chose. Click on the red button on the left side to see what I wrote. You may have to scroll to find the button. Let me know what you thought. It is a debate, feedback is fun!

Can Men and Women be "Just Friends"

Here is a little essay I wrote, it is a bit artsy in form, pondering the question, Can Men and Women be 'Just Friends'?

I wrote this for Helium as a little experiment. I wanted to see if I could compete against 150 other authors! If you aren't aware of how it works on Helium, you choose from an infinite number of topics to write about, your article is posted, and then rated by other authors. Whenever you post an article you are asked to rate articles. You can also just go in and rate them. The down side is you sign away your article. The up side is you get feedback on your work. Instant feedback. You can also make some money on Helium, but I haven't quite figured that out yet. It is incidental, I'm having so much fun writing, I'm addicted to the ratings! I haven't left my best writing on Helium because when something really strikes me, I have to hold on to it. I've had a couple of decent efforts I've left there, but all of my Helium writing is 'off the cuff' so they aren't as well developed as if I took a lot of time preparing it. Everything I've written for Helium has been a 'first draft' so to speak.

So, for my little experiment, I put myself in a pool of 150 authors writing about men and women being friends. I'm quite pleased to find myself, 12 hours later, sitting at number 31. My goal is the top ten, we'll see if the article makes it. If you want to see all of my articles on Helium you can go to Lily A. Thorns and check it out. By the way, if you want to write for Helium I will be glad to send you an invitation. Write to me at my email address, just click 'About Me' on the left and you will find a link. I would be happy to send you an invitation. Mind you, the ratings are addictive!

Oh, and do check back, I have post ideas mulling about for Never Fading Wood as well, but oh, the time to post. This is the busy time of the year for a mother of a large family. The school year is winding down, or should be. Sports are in full swing. Lots of ferreting the kids!

Praying to Saints

I have written another piece for Helium about the Catholic practice of praying to saints. This, of course is a common misconception. I am quite excited about this piece because it is ranked number one of six at the moment. I hope it stays there, in the number one place. I often tell my students that we do not pray to the saints but ask them to pray along with us in an intercessory role. Hop on over to Helium and read the essay! Let me know what you think about it. I'm all ears.

Happiness

Here is an essay that I wrote for Helium on happiness. Click here to read my essay.

The Lost Art of Sewing

This article I did let go on to the net. It is just a little commentary, if you are interested to read it you can click here.